New York City celebrates Day of the Dead with Times Square festival

NEW YORK (PIX11)-- Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday on which families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion.

The biggest celebration outside of Mexico occurred in Times Square at the second annual Dia de Muertos.

It‘s a celebration of a Mexican tradition gone Global.

This Day of the Dead is a time to remember loved ones no longer with us through music, dancing, costumes, and speeches.

Mayor Adams asked everyone to name a deceased loved one they remember.

“I am thinking of my mother Dorothy Adam’s,” the mayor told the crowd. “What is the name of the person you are thinking of?” he asked.

This Times Square celebration, started by New York City Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez, honors immigrants and encourages open streets.

“It is important when the nation is having a discussion of who we are,” Ydanis Rodriguez, the commissioner, told PIX11 News, that New York City celebrates our immigrants. We are all immigrants, whether it was 300 years ago or today,” he added.

The NYC Mayor’s commissioner of Immigrant Affairs, Manuel Castro, added that this is the largest Dia De Muertos celebration outside of Mexico, right here in Times Square.

 It’s estimated that more than one million people have seen these three statues installed last week in the heart of Times Square.

Four altars were also built, including one by Arturo Ortega, the owner of the popular Mexican restaurant La Fortaleza.

“We try to offer fruit and bread to friends and family that have gone before us,” Ortega said.

Oscar Perea from the Bronx was there with his wife and daughter and thinking of his grandfather, who passed away two years ago.

When PIX11 News asked if this was a joyous or sad day, Perea replied, “It’s a little bit of both. It’s sad but also happy that they are in a better place, with relatives who have already died. "